Saturday mail saved (again)

Take heart, snail mailers – Saturday deliveries by the U.S. Postal Service will likely continue through 2015.

As congressional leaders continue to debate sweeping postal reforms, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved an appropriations bill funding the Postal Service for the coming fiscal year – including a mandate for Saturday deliveries.

The Postal Service announced in 2009 that it planned to end Saturday deliveries and the notion has resurfaced multiple times, but still your cable bill and the Pennysaver shows up on the weekends. That will probably continue for the time being, though it’s not a done deal yet.

As appropriations bill HR 5016 moves to the Senate for action before the fed’s new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, it’s worth noting that appropriations bills – weighed down by riders attached by hopeful U.S. representatives who can’t get their favorite projects funded in due course – often die on the Senate floor. However, if the Senate doesn’t approve HR 5016, Congress will be compelled to pass a continuing resolution funding the agencies named in HR 5016, including the Postal Service, and insiders are confident that even a continuing appropriations bill will cover Saturday deliveries.